


Makorin Week Prompts

by biscuitsandgravy



Category: Free!
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-06 14:39:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5420882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/biscuitsandgravy/pseuds/biscuitsandgravy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Various stories from Makorin week prompts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lost

**Author's Note:**

> Day 1: Lost
> 
> Rin finds himself (or doesn't find himself) in Narita airport in the middle of the night, but Makoto comes through.

_Oh my god, I’ll never be able to tease Sousuke again,_ Rin thought. The thought entered his sleep-deprived mind, even though he really had more pressing matters to attend to.

 Namely, the fact that he had no idea where he was. It was probably the result of not sleeping in somewhere around 36 hours (thanks to flight delays and being crammed into a window seat for a ten-hour flight), but Rin was now acutely aware of the fact that he was somewhere inside Narita airport with no clear way to get out. He thought he’d gotten to know Narita’s international terminal pretty well, since he always tried to book his flights through it. But when he finally gotten through customs, nothing looked the same as he remembered. 

 The signs weren’t helping, either. Yes, there was a baggage claim to the right, but there was another to the left, and they were both active. Rin couldn’t remember which one his bags were supposed to be on; hell, he couldn’t even remember his flight number anymore. He stood unmoving at the bottom of the staircase coming from customs (that he didn’t even remember descending), not realizing that other frazzled travelers would also be wanting to get their bags. 

 As someone knocked him in the hip with a duffel bag, Rin had his first helpful thought since getting off the plane: call Makoto. 

 One side effect of being an older brother was that Makoto was able to plan around the details that no one else thought about. They hadn’t planned for Makoto to come to the airport to meet him, but Makoto surely would know what terminal he was stranded in, and probably which baggage carousel had his checked bags.

  _Makoto sure is amazing,_ Rin thought, smiling to himself. 

 And then someone ran over his foot with a suitcase, and he realized that this probably wasn’t the best place to think about his amazing boyfriend. 

 Okay. Call Makoto. Rin moved out of the way of the staircase.

 Too bad he had no idea what he’d done with his phone. Rin frantically searched his pockets, wondering if he’d put it in his backpack. Or maybe it was in his luggage? No, Rin distinctly remembered dicking around on his phone while stuck in the Sydney airport, so it had to be on him…unless he’d left it in Sydney. Or on the plane. Shit, did he really leave his phone in Australia? 

 Rin tried to hold it together as he tried to make sense of the memories flitting through his lit-by-a-tea-candle brain, but he was getting pissed at pretty much everything in the world pretty quickly. And then another thought hit him: he was landing a lot later than he originally planned. At least there was a huge digital clock on the wall, letting him know that it was…3:16 am. 

  _It’s too late to call him_ , Rin’s brain supplied.  _Shit. I’m going to be stuck in this damn airport forever._

 With every passing minute, the floor was looking more comfortable. Maybe he could lie down for a few minutes and regain some sense…

 “Rin!” Was the floor really calling out to him? Well, the floor’s voice sounded awfully familiar…

 About thirty seconds after hearing the voice, Rin realized that no, the floor was not talking to him. Rin turned in the general direction of the voice.

 “Makoto?” And it was. Or, it was at least a convincing hallucination. Rin would have run into his arms, but he couldn’t quite get his legs to move at the moment. Instead, Makoto ran over to him, because of course he would. Makoto embraced Rin while Rin was still deciding how to react. 

 “I’m so sorry I’m late, I promise I set my alarm with enough time to get over here, but I guess I must have pressed snooze too many times,” Makoto explained. He led Rin over to one of the still spinning carousels and picked Rin’s suitcase up (Rin mentally kicked himself for not spotting it earlier, especially when it was one of the only bags left). Makoto looked at Rin expectantly, and Rin realized he still hadn’t said anything yet.

  _Okay, play it cool. Say something casual, like ’it’s good to see you,’_ Rin thought. _Or maybe 'You look cute in sweatpants.' Yeah, that would work._

 

“I have no idea where I am,” was what actually came out of Rin’s mouth. Makoto smiled kindly. 

 

“You’ve had a long day,” he said sympathetically. He eased Rin’s backpack off his back and onto his own. Then, his hand not holding a suitcase rested on Rin’s shoulder and guided him in the direction of an exit. ( _I swear those exit signs weren’t there 15 minutes ago_ , Rin thought sourly.)

 

“Wait,” Rin said and stopped abruptly. Makoto jerked to a stop as well, obviously worried about Rin’s wellbeing. 

 

“Is everything okay? Are you feeling sick?” Makoto asked.

 

“No, I just don’t know where my phone is. I need to ask if anyone found it on my plane,” Rin said, feeling foolish.

 

“You lost your phone?” Makoto exclaimed. “Did you check your backpack and your pockets?” But Makoto was already unzipping Rin’s backpack and feeling around in the inner pockets. After only a few seconds, Makoto fished out Rin’s phone and turned it back on. Rin stared.

 

“How did you-“ Rin murmured, convinced his boyfriend was a magician.

 

“You like putting your phone in that pocket,” Makoto explained. “Do you need anything else? Otherwise, I say we get a cab to my apartment so you can sleep.”

 

“I was going to get a bus, a cab is going to be expensive…” Rin said weakly.

 

“No buses are running at this hour, Rin,” Makoto said calmly. “I don’t mind.” Makoto put his hand back on Rin’s shoulder and resumed steering Rin out of the airport. Rin didn’t even look at where he was walking; he trusted Makoto to steer him the right way.

 

“I didn’t think you were going to pick me up,” Rin said a few minutes later, as they were waiting at the door for a cab to pull around. 

 

“Originally I wasn’t. I texted you once your flight finally took off, but I guess if you weren’t looking at your phone…” bless Makoto for not adding ‘because you didn’t have the sense to check your backpack, idiot’ “…well, anyway, I decided to meet you here because I figured you’d be tired.”

 

A cab finally stopped at the curb, and Rin praised every higher power he could think of for ActualSaint Tachibana Makoto. Makoto effortlessly loaded Rin’s suitcase and backpack in the trunk, while Rin struggled to load himself in the backseat.

 

When they were both settled in the backseat, Rin discreetly grabbed for Makoto’s hand. Makoto squeezed gently while telling the driver the address. With his other hand, Rin checked for the messages he missed on his phone. There were 17, mostly from Makoto. The messaging app automatically displayed the most recent one. 

 

**Here’s to seeing you soon. I’m happy to have a chance to come get you. I hope you’re not too loopy when you get off the plane. But I love you even if you are. :)**

 


	2. Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 3: Confession
> 
> Makoto and Rin talk about the elephant in the room.

“…It was ridiculous! You’d think that after all of this time, he’d start paying attention to what he’s doing,” Rin sighed, finishing up his rant about Momotarou’s antics that day. 

 

Makoto chuckled. “It sounds like you have your hands full,” he said as he shifted the phone to his shoulder. Makoto finished hanging up his uniform for tomorrow and reclined on his bed, finally able to focus on his nightly conversation with Rin.

 

“You’re telling me!” Rin said emphatically. “Momo’s like, ten yappy dogs taped together. And Ai, man, he keeps on asking me to look at his training regimen, even though the season’s over. I guess that’s something he was going to Sousuke for, but…” Rin trailed off, now uncomfortable.

 

Makoto sat up, now alert. “How is Sousuke doing, anyway?” he asked cautiously. Rin’s oldest friend had been a touchy subject lately; Rin either didn’t want to talk about him at all, or he wanted to rant about how stupid he was until he as near tears.

 

Rin sighed. “He’s…okay, I guess. He doesn’t tell me much. He’s been going to therapy. He said he’d be out of the room this evening, but he wouldn’t tell me where he was going.”

 

“He probably doesn’t want to worry you,” Makoto reasoned. Rin scoffed.

 

“Well, it’s a little late for that!” Rin exclaimed. Makoto waited for him to continue, but he didn’t. “He said he didn’t want to be in the room during our call,” Rin finally mumbled. “I have no idea what he thinks we’re doing.”

 

“Well…Haru always thinks we’re being mushy,” Makoto chuckled. “But maybe Sousuke thinks something else…” Makoto trailed off, not wanting to embarrass himself by finishing that sentence.

 

“Yeah, yeah. You think I don’t know that? I’ve known him since before puberty. I know how he thinks by now, Makoto,” Rin huffed, surprisingly agitated. Makoto was silent. Finally, Rin spoke again. “Sorry, that was uncalled for. It’s just, it’s weird when I realize other people understand him, too.”

“It’s okay, Rin,” Makoto assured him.

 

“I guess, I just thought I understood Sousuke so well,” Rin continued, not acknowledging him. “But then he managed to hide his injury all summer. It was weird, realizing I’d fallen out of touch with him. I think I realized this summer, something about myself. I don’t know people as well as I think I do,” Rin was obviously venting now, so Makoto let him continue without interrupting, though he noticed himself nodding along sympathetically. “Like Haru. I missed all the signs that he was stressed out, and just kept on pushing him. And then you, as well.”

 

Makoto was about to respond to Rin’s remark about Haru, but his last statement confused him. “Me? What do you mean?”

 

Rin chuckled, though he didn’t seem especially amused. “I thought you were an open book, Makoto. But then Haru told me you yelled at him- and trust me, I don’t blame you at all, he needed it- and I was surprised.” Makoto blushed, still somewhat ashamed of himself for snapping at his oldest friend. “And when you raced the freestyle.”

 

In the middle of opening his mouth to say something- anything- about the miscommunications from summer, Makoto’s voice left him. “Wh-what about the freestyle?” he eventually managed.

 

“What do I mean? You lost that race on purpose!” Rin snorted.

 

“What? I did not!” Makoto rarely felt himself get angry, but this was definitely irritation.

 

“Yeah, you did,” Rin said dismissively. “You’ve been swimming for long enough to know how to pace yourself in a 200 meter race. You didn’t even try! And I’ve been trying to figure out why for months.” Rin obviously wanted Makoto to explain himself without forcing him.

 

“Rin…” Makoto breathed. He felt himself shrink. How could he confess to Rin without sounding like an ugly, cruel person? He couldn’t.

 

“Don’t tell me you’re a bigger chicken than I thought,” Rin said, almost dangerously. He was using his “tough guy” voice: he wasn’t going to drop it until Makoto explained himself.

 

“Uh…I-I-I don’t think-” Makoto stammered.

 

“Coward,” Rin goaded him.

 

Makoto was stunned. Rin may have been a blunt person, but he had never called Makoto a coward before. It stung in ways Makoto didn’t expect it to, like when you strain a muscle you didn’t know you had. The silence hung heavy through their connection; Makoto could hear Ran and Ren playing downstairs, but it felt like they were in a different universe.

 

“I…you’re right,” Makoto finally said, tonelessly. “I am a coward. I never wanted to beat Haru.” Rin said nothing, obviously waiting for him to continue. “Honestly…I entered that race because I was…jealous. Of you.”

 

There was a sudden _thud_ from Rin’s end. “What did you say?” he shouted, startled out of his silence.

 

Makoto buried his face in his hand. “I’m sorry. It was such a selfish thing for me to do. I just thought…I’m so sorry,” he breathed. The hand holding the phone was beginning to ache; he realized how tightly he was holding it.

 

“But…what the hell were you jealous of? I didn’t race that event. And we both did well at our other events…” Rin was still shocked.

 

Makoto breathed in and felt himself shudder. “I wasn’t jealous of your times. I was jealous of your relationship with Haru. I thought that maybe, if I raced Haru…maybe I would awaken something in him. The way you do.”

 

Rin breathed heavily for a few moments. When he finally spoke, his voice was tight. “But…how could you be jealous of that? Haru and I bicker all the time. You and him are practically family.”

 

“Yeah. But. You make him _feel_ things. In ways I never could. You convinced him to join the relay.And then he quit swimming because of you. And he only started again when you came back. For better or worse, Rin, you influence him in ways that I don’t. You push him to be better. And I hoped that if we raced, and he won, maybe he would feel better about his future. Maybe he would realize that you can beat your friends in something and still stay friends. Or maybe he would decide that winning wasn’t satisfying. I don’t know. It didn’t work, at any rate,” Makoto felt his voice rising as he spoke. Once he started, he couldn’t stop until it was all out in the open.

 

Rin was silent.

 

“I’m sorry,” Makoto apologized, feeling his throat tighten. “Good night, Rin, maybe we can-“

 

“Stop,” Rin grunted. “Don’t you dare. Don’t hang up.” Makoto couldn’t tell if Rin was crying; he was feeling pretty emotional himself. “I…wow. I really had no idea. I’m sorry, Makoto. I never…thought about it that way,” Rin said softly. 

 

“It’s okay, you don’t-“ Makoto started.

 

“Yes, I do. I never thought about any of this stuff. I definitely owe you an apology. Please forgive me,” Rin finished. Makoto was stunned again.

 

“Thank you, Rin,” he whispered. “I guess we’ve never talked about this before.”

 

“Do you…are we going to be okay?” Rin’s voice was definitely shaking now. “I’ve been a total ass without realizing it. And I never even thought about how my friendship with Haru affected you.”

 

“Of course, Rin, of course this will be okay. I know you’ve never meant any harm,” Makoto assured him despite how afraid he was of losing everything he had with Rin. “You just have a way of making people feel passionate.”

 

“…It must me my good looks,” Rin muttered, trying to break the tension. Makoto laughed.

 

“Definitely. But Rin?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Your passion? It’s something I love about you. You inspire other people. You’re amazing,” Makoto murmured. 

 

Makoto could hear Rin floundering on the other end. “Makoto, I-“ Rin started.

 

Suddenly, there was the sound of a scuffle and a shout from Rin’s end. Then the line was quiet.

 

“Rin?” Makoto asked. “Are you still there?”

 

“Tch, yeah,” Rin mumbled. “I had you on speakerphone and Sousuke walked in. He tried to make some crack about me being romantic.”

 

“So what did you throw at him?” Makoto chuckled. 

 

“A water bottle, but I missed. Asshole,” Rin grumbled. Then he continued, sounding sheepish. “…But…can you say it again? What you were saying before.” 

 

Makoto smiled. “I love your passion, Rin. You’re an amazing leader to your team and you inspire me, too.”

 

“Yeah…well, you…I love…um, your…face. And, uh, the rest of you. All of you. I love it.”

 

“I love you, Rin,” Makoto said.

 

“You too. I love you,” Rin replied.

 


	3. Personality Swap/AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bastard child of day 5 and 6: AU where Makoto went to Australia in elementary school and joined the Iwatobi swim team when he returned (after a lot of angst and yelling).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got so behind this week, I actually started this one a few days earlier but couldn't figure out how to finish it.

“Meet us at Iwatobi high later,” Haru had muttered to him on the way out of the public tournament, so Rin had come. But it looked like the wooded area was deserted- honestly, Rin was a little creeped out. Clouds blocked most of the sun’s light, and the breeze sounded just enough like whispers to have Rin on edge.

 

“Guys?” he called timidly. There was no answer. The movement of the trees made him feel like he wasn’t alone, so he tried to casually walk towards the pool’s dressing room. It was only now that he realized how shabby Iwatobi’s pool facilities were. Rin gulped as he turned the door handle. “Guys?” he called again. He opened the door slowly.

 

Before he knew what was happening, someone had slammed something heavy over his head. Rin shrieked as he felt hands grab him and drag him forward. 

 

“Quick, come this way.” “Be careful!” “Oh no, please don’t hurt my brother!” (That voice had to be Gou’s.)

 

Rin tried to protest, ask the poorly disguised voices of his friends where the hell they were taking him, but his voice was stuck in his throat. He could feel his feet dragging over a concrete surface, until finally he was released and his feet met solid ground. He straightened up and frantically tried to remove whatever was stuck on his head (he couldn’t help think about a video he’d seen of a cat with a sock on its head).

 

And then suddenly, the weight was lifted. Rin blinked and tried to gain his bearings: he was at the Iwatobi High School pool, he knew that much, but something was different.

 

The pool was full of cherry blossoms.

 

Rin looked to his friends (who only looked slightly guilty for manhandling him).

 

“You mentioned in elementary school that you wanted to swim in a pool of cherry blossoms,” Haru explained, holding a horrifying model of his school’s mascot (did he make it? why does something like that exist?).

 

“We filled up the pool just for this,” Makoto explained. Rin looked directly at Makoto for the first time since having the mask pulled off. Makoto was avoiding his gaze, but his meaning was clear: _we filled up the pool just for you_.

 

“Go on!” Nagisa and Rei cheered. Makoto was still averting his gaze, but the blush painted across his cheeks ruined the ‘aloof tough guy’ effect. 

 

Rin didn’t know how to react. “Guys…” he started. He beamed. How could he ever show his friends how touched he was. Gou, off to the side, whipped out her camera, no doubt taking a picture of her brother’s goofy smile.

 

And then, thunder.

 

The rain came hard, fast, and cold. Everyone ran for cover- Rin, Makoto, and Haru ended up under the pool’s shaded bench, while Nagisa, Rei, and Gou headed towards the changing room’s awning.

 

“The forecast didn’t say anything about rain,” Rin mumbled. It even felt a little ominous, an unexpected storm ruining the cheerful atmosphere. He, Makoto, and Haru watched the rain for a few minutes before Makoto broke the silence.

 

“By the way…what do you intend to do after you graduate?” Makoto asked, finally looking directly at Rin.

 

Rin, of course, froze. “I guess I haven’t thought about it,” he responded, smiling to lighten the mood. Haru stared directly ahead, not looking at either of them. Makoto held Rin’s gaze for a few seconds. Rin couldn’t help feeling intimidated; even after knowing him since elementary school Makoto had a certain way of piercing him with his gaze. It didn’t help that in the time Makoto was in Australia, he grew into a giant.

 

Makoto turned away. Rin could see the the pouring rain reflected in Makoto’s eyes. He sighed. “More like you’ve avoided thinking about it,” he muttered. 

 

Rin knew he was correct, though. Makoto’s big dream of going to the Olympics had almost felt like Rin’s own dream, but now it was apparent that Rin would have to find a path for himself. 

 

The rain eventually cleared, and Rin had to return to Samezuka. “I’ll walk you to the train station,” Makoto offered. They walked in silence, but it was comfortable- unlike earlier. Still, now that Makoto had mentioned it, Rin couldn’t stop thinking: what would he do when high school ends?

 

Suddenly, Rin noticed that Makoto had stopped walking. Rin turned around. Makoto was looking at him with his piercing green eyes, though his expression was much less critical than before. He looked more concerned than anything.

 

“Rin,” Makoto started. They both stepped forward to meet each other. “Look. You still have time to figure out about your future. But if you don’t start soon, you’re going to start drifting.”

 

Rin nodded. “I’m glad you brought it up,” he said, smiling.

 

Makoto rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “To be honest, I’m not really worried about you. You’ll find a way,” he said. Rin could tell he still had something left to say. “But…I am worried about Haru.”

 

“Haru?” Rin understood, though: Haru’s usual method of problem-solving was to wait until a decision was made for him. “I’ll try talking to him soon.”

 

“Thanks. You know him; whenever you tell him to do something, he immediately decides he doesn’t want to. You’ll probably have more luck than me.”

 

“We’ll see,” Rin smiled. “Thanks for walking me.”

 

“Sure,” Makoto said. “And…call me if you want to talk about anything. You’re going to have a great future, once you figure out what it is you want.” Makoto grabbed Rin’s hand and squeezed. Then he turned, quickly, and left. “See you,” he called. Rin almost missed the blush on Makoto’s cheeks.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tbh I like this AU but I am probably never going to elaborate on it


End file.
